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Colonel Olrik
Colonel Olrik is the perennial antagonist of the Blake & Mortimer comic book series. He first appears in the three part epic The Secret of the Swordfish (though this isn't the first time he confronts Blake & Mortimer in the comic's timeline). He has appeared in every book of the series except for The Time Trap and The Oath of the Five Lords. When he is first introduced to Blake & Mortimer he is said to be from Central Europe but not much else is known about him outside of his exploits throughout the series. He sometimes acts as the main villain, but is often a willing, reluctant or coerced aide to the primary antagonist. He is shown to be a consumate actor, and like Blake is able to use disguises that are good enough to fool Mortimer. Known to be extremely ruthless, he has killed numerous other characters during the series and has no qualms in leaving his fellow villainous associates to fend for themselves when he is forced to flee when his plans inevitably go awry. He displays huge confidence in his abilities despite repeated setbacks and imprisonments (mainly at the hands of Mortimer) and is an experienced hand to hand fighter. Introduction The following lists the books in which Olrik appears in chronological order according to the main timeline in the Blake & Mortimer universe (flashbacks within a comic are ignored for simplicity). At the end of some books it is not clear what Olrik's fate is yet he always manages to re-emerge in some new scheme, often the very next story. Plutarch's Staff The year is 1944, near the end of WWII. Olrik is first introduced to Blake & Mortimer at the Scafell secret base as a Slavic languages expert, one of many experts working in different fields who are aiming to bring about victory for the Allies against the Axis. He is later revealed to be the man seen earlier in the story aiming to obtain the secret blueprints of a new superweapon known as the Swordfish invented by Mortimer. A man named Hasso who had fled from the Yellow Empire after Emperor Basam Damdu took control is shown to be staying in the same quarters as Olrik at the base. Olrik catches Hasso red-handed looking through documents intended for him and reveals himself as a spy for Basam Damdu. He is about to shoot him when Hasso claims to also be a spy. Olrik accepts his story and brings Hasso into his service. Unbeknownst to Olrik, Blake arranges for Hasso to act as a spy for the British in the Yellow Empire. Meanwhile Blake starts to piece together observations he has made about Harvey & Brandon Clarke (revealed to be twin brothers) who are soldiers in the British Army and a possible connection to Olrik due to the car he drives. He suspects the Clarke brothers are traitors working with Olrik. When they are exposed, Olrik helps Harvey Clarke flee after he shoots his superior attempting to arrest him in London. However Olrik declares that he is now useless to his master and proceeds to shoot him and dumps his body in the Thames. Olrik then goes to rendevous with Hasso and return to the Yellow Empire. As the story concludes, we move forward to 1946 and the Yellow Empire is now locked in a Cold War with the rest of the world, while Hasso has managed to become a captain in their army. The Secret of the Swordfish Part 1 The Yellow Empire has finalised preparations for a large scale war. Olrik is the chief of intelligence and military advisor to the Emperor. In the capital Lhasa, he gives orders for his Imperial troops to begin a global attack on all the major developed nations of the world, aiming to conquer them before they can fully mobilise their forces. Hasso secretly listens into Olrik's attack plans and goes home to warn Blake at Scafell secret base, but one of Olrik's men spots his eavesdropping. Olrik promptly arrives at Hasso's home and shoots him, but not before Blake & Mortimer hear his message. Olrik aims to capture the base intact and the Swordfish plans with it, but Blake & Mortimer evacuate the base and blow it up, escaping with the plans in their aircraft the Golden Rocket. While this happens the Yellow Empire completes it's conquest of the world. Olrik spots the Golden Rocket and gives chase in his aircraft the Red Wing. The Golden Rocket immobilises his aircraft but another Imperial squadron arrives and cripples the aircraft, seemingly killing all the crew as they are forced to parachute out. However some survivors (including Blake & Mortimer) land in Iran. Olrik, not convinced that Blake & Mortimer are dead, scontinues searching for them. His suspicions are proven correct as the pair are captured but escape before Olrik can take custody of them. Discovering a piece of paper left behind by them before their capture he lies in wait at the rendevous point they are heading towards. He and his troops are left dumbfounded though as Blake & Mortimer (with the help of their new ally Nasir) unexpectedly make off with his Red Wing located nearby. Olrik is informed of their location in a town named Turbat by his spy Razul. He sends in some Imperials to capture them and races towards the town himself... Part 2 ...However the capture fails as rebels attack the Imperials in a heated gun battle. Olrik arrives in his car and gives chase to the fleeing trio but soon gives up when a bridge he needs to cross is destroyed. Olrik then turns his attention to the coast as that is where they are heading and his Imperials finally capture Mortimer atop a pyramid during the night. Olrik suspects he was searching for something but his men are unable to find anything. Blake & Nasir disappear without trace. Three months later, he returns to Lhasa and is brought before the emperor's Grand Council, who are unhappy with his failure to make Mortimer talk, and the first signs of Olrik's own plans to overthrow the emperor are shown. Returning to Karachi where Mortimer is held, Olrik is about to give up and have him killed when Mortimer suddenly appears to give in and starts talking about the Swordfish. Olrik seems to succeed in winning Mortimer to his side in his own plans to overthrow the emperor. Suspicious, he has his ally Li watch him. Leaving to deal with an incident involving the sabotage of a railway but suspicious, Olrik orders Li not to leave Mortimer alone with Fo, who the emperor sent to help Mortimer recreate the Swordfish plans but whom Olrik correctly suspects is spying on him. Olrik hears Nasir has been spotted in Karachi by his spy Razul and returns, but is too late to stop a fleeing Mortimer who escapes in a helicopter sent by Blake. Olrik sends his Imperials in pursuit, and they attempt to sink the S2 submarine that Blake, Mortimer & Nasir have escaped to... Part 3 ...A month has passed since the submarine incident, and it is unclear what the fate of the submarine is. Olrik is kept under increased surveillance and is suspected of double dealings and attempting to obtain the Swordfish plans for himself. Meanwhile a convoy carrying technicians and intellectuals to a concentration camp of the Yellow Empire is attacked by commando of soldiers (later revealed to be under the command of Blake) who manage to free the prisoners, including two men named Jack Harper, a former security chief, & Donald Bell, a nuclear engineer. They become fast friends as Bell twice saves Harper's life. The prisoners are brought to the Makran secret base located underneath the Strait of Hormuz where numerous intellectuals, technicians and scientists have gathered together in a combined effort to bring about global freedom for the world. Mortimer is close to constructing Swordfishes in preparation for the fightback against the Yellow Empire. Two explosions cause the base to black out and lose 75% of it's power, and Bell is revealed to be a spy who gained Harper's trust and stole his identity in order to access the power plant. Mortimer rushes towards the atomic sector, fearing that is the spy's next target. He finds the spy trying to steal radioactive materials from a safe and he is revealed to be none other than Olrik himself, who pulls a gun on Mortimer. Olrik reveals he decided to infiltrate the base personally (with the prisoner convoy as a ploy) to salvage his prestige. He is forced to flee without being able to make use of the materials he was after due to the arrival of Blake & Nasir. Attempting to flee the base, Olrik knocks out a man who is part of the diving team and steals his suit, joining a team preparing to relieve their counterparts in the S2 submarine. Olrik slips away and manages to reach the shore, despite briefly being recaptured by Blake. Olrik makes it to the coast where his spy Razul is waiting for him, and he sends him to alert all available forces to converge on the now discovered base. Olrik, aiming to capture the base and steal the Swordfishes instead of destroying them, is unaware the defenders are buying time to allow two Swordfishes to be constructed in time, and soon two of the machines emerge (the first piloted by Blake, the second by Mortimer), finally revealing their awesome power for the first time by destroying the entire Imperial fleet. Olrik, defeated, heads back in Lhasa. The emperor, blind wth rage, prepares to fire his entire atomic arsenal in vengeance, with Olrik strapped to the first missile to be launched due to his failures. However a fleet of Swordfishes arrive and destroy Lhasa, killing the emperor and seemingly Olrik aswell who simply laughs at his former master's demise. The Mystery of the Great Pyramid Part 1 In this adventure, set in Egypt, Olrik is first seen talking over the phone with a man named Abdul Ben Zaim. Abdul is assistant to Ahmed Rassim, an archaeologist and friend of Mortimer, who had invited him to decipher his latest finds at the Egyptian Museum. These finds include mention of the chamber of Horus, long thought only a legend. Olrik is particularly interested in locating the chamber and obtaining the treasures said to be contained within. He has Abdul discreetly examine these documents and pass information onto him. Abdul enters the museum at night (along with Olrik) to steal the papyrus describing where a secret passage to the chamber is located. Meanwhile Mortimer, who had become suspicious that Abdul was intending to steal the papyrus, stole part of it himself and aimed to catch him in the act of stealing the rest at night having carefully watched his movements uring the day. He unexpectedly runs into Olrik and is knocked by him. Noting part of the papyrus he stole is missing, Abdul informs Olrik who recovers the fragment from Mortimer. Abdul deciphers the text which allows Olrik to start excavating around the Sphinx in order to find the entrance to the passage. Later Olrik learns two of his accomplices, Razul (from the Secret of the Swordfish) and Youssef have captured Mortimer who had been making his own investigations into the whole affair but before he can question Mortimer the police arrive and he is forced to flee. He is then revealed to be staying at a hotel under an assumed name along with another accomplice Sharkey (who also features in a similar role in later stories) after a frightened Abdul panics and calls him despite orders not to do so. The police surround the hotel but he drugs Mortimer (the only person able to identify him) and escapes. Abdul, who has become fed up with his role in the whole business, is knocked down and killed by a car driven by Olrik & Sharkey before he can spill the beans. Desperate, Mortimer calls in Blake for his assistance. Blake himself has been dealing with an international gang of traffickers whose activities have become more widespread. The telegram tells Blake that Olrik is in charge of the whole operation and he heads for Egypt. However he is seemingly killed by an assassin named Jack on a stopover in Athens by the orders of Olrik... The Yellow "M" In this adventure, Olrik is revealed to be the mysterious Yellow "M", a man with seemingly supernatural abilities, including invulnerability and superhuman strength, that was committing numerous crimes throughout London. However he is merely a puppet of Septimus, the main antagonist of the book. Septimus has invented a machine known as the telecephaloscope, which allows him to make anyone do his bidding by guiding, controlling and stimulating what Septimus calls his or her "Mega Wave". Olrik had become a kind of wild madman thanks to the punishment received from the Sheik in the last novel, and was aimlessly wondering through the Sahara desert when he was picked up by the authorities. Septimus, while working as a doctor in the Sudan, took him under his care and returned to England, intending to use him as revenge against the men who rubbished his theories about the Mega Wave. Septimus gives him the derogatory name Guinea Pig. After successfully having Olrik steal various artifacts including the Imperial Crown, Septimus then has him kidnap the key figures who ostracised him. However Septimus does not know Guinea Pig's true identity, which proves his downfall as Mortimer successfully disrupts the control Septimus has over him by exploiting a weakness in his invention. An enraged Olrik turns on Septimus, killing him with the telecephaloscope. Olrik, finally free, notices Mortimer and is about to launch himself at him when the police arrive, forcing him to flee and escape into the sewers. The Septimus Wave In the sequel to the Yellow "M", we see Olrik taking morphine as he tries to banish the memories of being a test subject for the telecephaloscope, which is giving him recurring nightmares about Septimus and the control he had over him. However he soon finds himself forced back into the same role thanks to a new group of influential people (named McFarlane, Rowena, Bailey and Evangely) who are followers of Septimus and wish to continue his work. They also capture Mortimer to help with their experiments but he nearly kills Olrik while trying to damage the telecephaloscope. Meanwhile figures of Septimus start appearing all around London, and appear to all be searching for Olrik. Olrik confronts Mortimer while they are both locked up, preparing to take revenge for nearly killing him, but Mortimer convinces Olrik that he panicked and only wished to stop the experiments from continuing. A whole horde of Septimus figures converges on their location, and Mortimer divulges his theory to Olrik and the followers of Septimus that an unknown external source may be behind all these figures appearing. Overwhelmed by the numerous Septimuses, McFarlane, who cares for Rowena, sacrifices himself to allow them to escape with her into the sewers. Olrik, deprived of morphine for too long, is unable to continue on and expects Mortimer to abandon him but instead Mortimer helps him and brings to another location where he has set up his own telecephaloscope experiment. Olrik agrees to be a test subject again in order to nullify the external source stopping him from regaining his reason. The external source is revealed to come from a hostile force in an alien spacecraft buried deep under King's Cross in London, and Olrik sacrifices his sanity to destroy the threat. He is last seen being treated at Bedlam Hospital. The Francis Blake Affair Olrik is first seen when Blake discovers him to be involved in a network of foreign agents working on British soil, along with Jack, the assassin who tried to kill Blake in the previous novel. Blake appears to have turned traitor and joined his network, but Olrik has him shoot one of his Blake's own former agents (Fielding) in order to prove his good faith. Blake tricks Olrik into thinking he has done so, knocking out both Olrik and Jack before fleeing with Fielding. Olrik next appears in a plane, surprising both Blake & Mortimer who are getting closer to unmasking the network, and luaghing as some of his men prepare to capture them. He captures Blake just as he finally discovers the traitor in the British Intelligence Service who was sending information to the network, and triumphantly informs Blake of Mortimer's apparent death after jumping off a cliff before having him locked up. The plans of Olrik and his allies are thwarted when Mortimer is revealed to have survived and freed Blake and his deputy Honeychurch, having entered their base secretly. Mortimer also manages to knock out Olrik, but while the rest of his allies are captured by the SAS who were called in by Honeychurch, Olrik recovers and manages to escape in a plane. The Strange Encounter In this adventure, set in the USA, a hidden Olrik is first seen conversing with Jimmy Tcheng about retrieving an item referred to as a ray gun from Mortimer. The plan fails when the man sent to retrieve it is killed after falling over a railing. The man is revealed to be wearing a mask that covers what appears to be an alien-like face. Later Mortimer chases Tcheng after discovering he also wears a mask, but after Tcheng is killed and Mortimer wounded during a storm he finds himself captured by two more of Olrik's masked allies. Olrik then reveals himself to Mortimer and takes him to his master, the Yellow Emperor Basam Damdu, long thought dead in the bombings of Lhassa. Damdu then orders Mortimer's execution which Olrik gleefully awaits, but Mortimer is first told the truth behind the whole situation he finds himself in. The masked men are revealed to be descendants of the current human race from 8061 whose features have come about due to mutations caused by nuclear wars in the 21st century. These bitter descendants saved Damdu and some of his men from the bombings of Lhassa hit them by using their own time travel technology. They plan to invade & colonise earth in the 20th century with Damdu as their leader, Damdu reappointed Olrik as his military advisor. After hearing this, Olrik takes Mortimer to a nearby lake. Mortimer pleas for Olrik to not side with the despotic emperor but Olrik refuses simply because he wants to be on the winning side. A disgusted Mortimer punches Olrik and Olrik angrily orders for him to suffer the agony of drowning (originally just wanting to end his life painlessly out of respect). Unbeknownst to Olrik, Blake, who was watching the whole incident hidden nearby, sends divers to save Mortimer. Olrik then puts the next plan of action into effect by seizing nuclear warheads that are being transported but this is foiled by Blake, Mortimer & their American allies. Olrik escapes with one of the warheads. Arriving at Hoover dam he is stunned to find Mortimer with his allies waiting for him. In arguably his most evil moment in the entire series, he arms the bomb and prepares to take millions of people with him rather than surrender. However Jessie Wingo shoots Olrik and Mortimer disarms the bomb before it detonates. A wounded Olrik is finally captured for the first time in the series. 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